


End of the Future

by Lexarius



Category: Back to the Future, Ghostbusters (1984-1989; 2020), Neon Genesis Evangelion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27779011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexarius/pseuds/Lexarius
Summary: The future is not what it used to be.
Comments: 46
Kudos: 16





	1. Back From a Future

Marty McFly wrapped his girlfriend, Jennifer, in a one-armed hug, as they both looked at the pick-up truck waiting on the garage. It was brand new, black in color, freshly waxed to a mirror-like finish.

Marty thought about how much things had changed since his accidental trip back to 1955. He still had Jennifer at his side, and the Doc was still alive, but everything else… well… it had changed for the better. Instead of slowly crumbling apart before his eyes, the McFly family had a bright future ahead.

And he could barely wait for the Doc to come back from the future!

Suddenly, a loud bang ruined the peaceful moment. Jennifer grabbed his arm instinctively, scared by the noise.

It took him just a moment to recognize the sound.

The man who ran to him a few seconds later just confirmed it. The DeLorean had returned to Hill Valley!

However, Doc Brown looked like he had seen Hell itself! His eyes, wild with enthusiasm whenever he talked about science and inventions; now where wild with fear. His white radiation suit was dirty and scuffed.

Doc pulled Marty into a desperate hug, as if to resssure himself Marty was alive.

"Doc, um… what's going on?"

"I…" words failed the eccentric inventor.

Marty guided him to sit on the curb. He turned to Jennifer, "Please, go to the kitchen and bring me a coke or something."

Scared, Jennifer hesitated for a moment, but a look to the face of the older man was enough. She nodded, and ran into the house.

Doc Brown held his head in his hands, and sobbed. "It was horrible, Marty…"

"Doc? What did you see?"

"Death." He closed his eyes. "Nothing but death. A dead city, empty. No one there, not even a corpse, a bone, nothing but empty clothes and ruined buildings."

"God… a n-n-nuclear war…" Marty gasped.

"No." Doc rubbed his face. "There was no radiation or anything. I checked. Whatever happened, it was not a bomb. The buildings were too well preserved."

Jennifer returned with a cold bottle of coke. "Here you go, Doctor Brown."

"Thank you, child." He drank greedily, as if he had just returned form the desert.

"Wo-wo-wo, doc; take it easy." Marty asked. Doc finished the drink in a few gulps.

"What happened, Doctor Brown? you look like you saw a ghost."

"That would have been preferable… a group of scientific colleagues have built some remarkable machines to capture and hold them indefinitively… but no…" The scientist put the bottle on the ground, looking from Jennifer to Marty and back. "Not ghosts, not really…"

"Doc?"

"You might as well tell her where you were last week, Marty. I'm going back home. I need a drink."

"You don't drink, Doc."

He closed his eyes, "I know. I need a drink."

"Marty? Jennifer asked, "what does he mean? You were here all week."

"Long story, Jennifer." He paused, "Are you sure, Doc?"

"Yes."

"I better get you home, Doc. You shouldn't drive, you are in shock or something."

"That would be best." He looked at his trembling hands.

"Jennifer, I'm sorry… I… I have to go. We will talk later, Okay?"

"Bring her along. Better place to tell her everything." Doc wheezed, standing up, a bit wobbly. "Could you ask your Father if I could leave my car here? Just for tonight? I'll pick it up in the morning."

"Sure, be right back."

The trio went back to the Brown Manor. Doc bought a six pack of beers in the way.

They sat down in the kitchen.

Silent.

It took a long while for Doc to settle down, a can of beer in his hands. He lowered his eyes, looking at it, like many men had looked to their drinks in the history of humanity. As if alcohol might contain the answers to their biggest problems.

"Jennifer." He said, somberly. "You must keep an open mind. I can prove my story. And Marty will corroborate it too."

She looked at Marty, who nodded solemnly. "It is unbelievable."

"For me, it starts in 1955. I was just trying to make a functional telepathic helmet. I had been working on that stupid thing for a couple of years, never got it to work. In an unrelated event, I hit my head and got the inspiration I needed for an even greater invention. The basis for a time machine!"

Marty followed, "And it took him about 30 years, a lot of money, and fooling some lybian terrorists with plutonium to make it work."

"What?" She exclaimed.

"I was there when he tested it, yesterday, at the Twin Pines Mall."

"Where is that? The only mall in miles is the Lone Pine Mall."

"That's what complicates things, Jennifer. Thing is, there once was a Twin Pine Mall, here in Hill Valley. I used to go there. But that place doesn't exist anymore. My fault."

"Wait, Marty, you didn't tell me that. Twin Pines?" Doc waved the beer can around.

"Remember Old Man Peabody?"

"Sure, he had the idea of…" Doc's eyes unfocused for a moment. "Breeding… pines. He had two pines near his house. Where the Mall is now."

Marty nodded. "I knocked down one of them."

"You changed history."

"Wait," Jennifer waved her hands. "Are you trying to tell me Marty visited 1955?"

"I did. And accidentally changed everything. Dad used to be Biff Tannen's doormat, piggy bank and slave. Mom was always depressed, and my siblings were not that well adjusted either."

"That's hard to believe…"

"Let me explain." Doc took a sheet of paper and a pencil. He traced a line from one side of the paper to the other. "Imagine this line is time. Here," he marked a dot at the beginning of the line, "Is 1955. Okay?"

Jennifer nodded. Doc marked another dot at the center of the line. "This dot here is 1985. Right now." He marked a third dot, at the other en of the line. "And this is 2015. Well… actually, 2016, I made a mistake when inputting the destination date, and ended up a year later than I originally intended.” He shrugged. “I count myself lucky, had I arrived to 2015, we would be mostly unaware of the incoming catastrophe.” He turned back to the paper, “All you know, all that you can remember, all that will be, is contained in this single line. Because we perceive time a a lineal progression of events."

He continued, "But, if a time machine is available, and a time traveler goes from, say 1985 to 1955, and changes a single event, maybe with their very presence," he traced a branching line, starting in the 1955 dot and running parallel to the first line, " _all_ events after that change will be altered. Some will be barely noticeable by the time traveler once they are back in their own time, while other will be important." He marked new dots in the 1985 and 2016 positions. "And no one else would notice." He dropped the pencil and took the beer can in his hands. “Not unless they had previous knowledge of time travel. As is my own case. I was aware of some future events thanks to Marty.”

"Wait a minute…" she gasped, thinking hard, "if you changed the past, and your family is different to the way you knew them… then you are not the Marty McFly I have known since third grade!" (1)

Marty paled. "Oh, god. That's… that's true. I'm sorry, I didn't realize!"

"Doc, where is the Marty I know?"

Doc shuddered. "He might be in a third timeline. One we don't have access to. Or… maybe the timelines fused together and Marty here is a kind of fusion of both versions of himself. But we can't know that yet, we will have to wait for a while."

"You said you had proof time travel is real. Show me." She demanded.

Doc pulled an envelope from his white suit. Inside, there was a letter, written on old-style stationery, to the Lou's Café name. It had been ripped to pieces and reassembled with tape. Yellowed by time. She read it.

"Murdered?" She whispered and looked at Doc and Marty.

"Yes. Those Lybians were really pissed at me. I have the vest in the DeLorean, if you want to see it. It has about ten bullets in, I have the corresponding bruises." He winced. "And the tapes Marty recorded for my alternate self."

"This looks like your handwriting, Marty."

"It is. I saw the Doc being shot, jumped in the car and drove away. Didn't realize the time circuits were on, and ended up in 1955."

"And then..?"

"I ran over a pine, and accidentally prevented my parents first meeting."

"Causing two paradoxes. The first one caused minor changes. The only one we notice is the name of the mall. The second one could have had grave consequences. If Marty's parents had not, they wouldn’t have married, never had children, and Marty and his siblings are erased from existence. Or, in the best case scenario, would be completely different people.”

"Doc and I managed to get them to fall in love anyway, and after a lot of problems, managed to get the DeLorean to time jump again, and here I am. Back to 1985, but a very different 1985. At least, different for me and my family."

"And a lot of people who don't know history changed. For them, changes are minimal, their lives would be mostly the same anyway. Have you noticed any really big changes? I know Reagan is President, just like you told me in 1955. Sadly, Jerry Lewis is not the Vice-President."

Marty thought about it. "Well… no. But I have been back only for a few hours."

"Okay, Okay," Jennifer waved her arms, "this is getting freaky. Now, just for the sake of curiosity, why don't you two simply demonstrate to me, this time traveling DeLorean at work."

Doc shook his head. "I have a very limited amount of plutonium."

"That thing is nuclear?"

"I said the same thing when he told me." Marty chuckled.

"We are going to have to do some very careful maneuvering to solve this. I can't allow Humanity to die!" Doc paced around the room, beer in hand. "We need to find out what happened and what to do about it. And I have only… eight plutonium canisters… enough for four round trips."

"Could we, I mean, couldn't you invent something more efficient, Doc?"

"Marty, your faith in me is moving; but I would need, I don't know… decades!" He sat down, leaned back on the chair, the fingertips of his right hand barely touching his temples, thinking hard.

Jennifer took the pencil, and traced a new line on the paper. "What if you start in 1955? With 1985 knowledge?"

Doc took the paper, looked at her with new found enthusiasm, "Great Scott! That might work!" He cracked open the can and took three long sips.

He then proceeded to fall down on the desk, instantly asleep.

"Oh, my God! Did he faint?"

Marty took the Can from Doc's hand. "Nope. He seems to be a lightweight. C'mon, help me get him to his bed. I'll take you home while he sleeps it off."

They dragged him to the bedroom. "For a lightweight, you are really heavy, Doc…" Marty grunted.

* * *

**_Author Notes:_ **

I thought End of Evangelion and Back to the Future II happen duringthe same year. Third Impact is said to happen in January 1st 2016, while Doc Brown goes to October 21 2015. So, for the sake of the story, I introduced a minor mistake to allow Doc Brown to see the world post-Third Impact. I hope the fix I used is not too intrusive. I’ve had experiences with inputting numbers in a keyboard, and mistakingly pushing 6 instead of 5 is not that farfetched.

(1) Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, I used to collect the Starlog Magazine. After BTTF 2 was released, They published a very interesting article, “The Return of the Other Marty McFly”, I think the author was Michael J. Wolff (really!). The article analyzed the inherent paradoxes to time travel, and one of the points was that after changing the past, Marty returned to see a double at the end of he first movie. That double was the one who grew in the changed timeline. Sadly, I never got to read the original article, “The Other Marty McFly” but that was the first of many articles that analyzed logically how several movie monsters or protagonist would work in the real world. If you can find those articles, check them out!

**_Update:_ **

Reader Divya was so kind as to look for and post the links to scanned versions of the pertinent Starlog Magazine issues with the articles I referenced in the author notes. I did misremember the author, it was Bruce Gordon, whom I hope was not Eclipsed (DC Comics joke). The links are in the comments for this chapter.   
  
Thanks, Divya! 


	2. The Next Day

Jennifer and Marty arrived to Brown Manor, the ironically named house, and parked the DeLorean in the garage. They found Doc Brown sitting at the kitchen table. Heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes, a bag of ice precariously balanced on his head, wincing at every little noise.

The rest of the six pack of beers had been emptied in the sink, and the cans chucked into the garbage bin. The place reeked of beer and spoiled dog food. Einstein had demonstrated good sense, refusing to eat the mess on the floor, and barked at Marty, hoping the kid would pity him and give him some fresh food. Jennifer wrinkled her nose, but abstained on commenting. After hearing Doc’s story, she thought the man didn’t need more problems.

Marty petted Einstein, and put a paper bag on the table. “Hey, Doc. Got you these. Take two and rest. I will clean the house while you recover. Okay?” He whispered, putting a pack of Alka-Seltzer on Doc’s hands.

Doc nodded wearily, “Thank you, Marty. You’re a godsend. My head hurts like the devil.”

Jennifer put a bag on the table, “I can make you breakfast, while Marty cleans, Doctor Brown. I don’t expect you to be hungry, but believe me, you’ll need it.”

“I’m keeping well away from alcohol from now on, Miss Parker. I can barely think.” His voice was raspier than normal.

“That would be best, and call me Jennifer.” She smiled, pulling a pair of earmuffs and a sleep mask out of the bag. “These might help while Marty and I work. You’ll feel better with something in your stomach.”

Groaning, Doc took both; the ice bag almost fell from his head, but Jennifer caught it. “Lay down on the couch, Doctor. Try to sleep. I’ll call you when breakfast if ready.”

He nodded, wincing at the movement. “I’ll try.”

Meanwhile, Marty was busy bagging the dog food that had accumulated on the floor. He opened a new can, and put its contents on a plastic plate. Einstein’s bowl would have to be left in soapy water for a while. The hungry dog attacked the food as soon as possible.

Marty switched off Doc’s automatic cook, the machine was still trying to cook eggs, toast bread, and make coffee… making a mess of everything.

While he worked, Jennifer was busy in the kitchen. French toast, strawberry jam over corn flakes and some rice. Not a big feast, but one of her cousins used to work at a hotel, and found that those dishes helped the guests after a really wild weekend. Add to that a big jar of orange juice, freshly squeezed, and the Doc would feel much better.

Marty opened all the windows to refresh the air. He worked quickly, and took the chance to order the mess he had done with the sound equipment. He would have to work to pay for the big loud speaker that had blown out…

He shook his head, there were more urgent things to think about.

* * *

Once Doc had eaten, rehydrated, and his headache receded, he looked at the teenagers. “We need more information. I brought back all the newspapers from 2015 I could find, they are in the car trunk.”

Marty brought them into the house. It was a bunch of well known periodicals, the Hill Valley Gazette, the New York Times, for example.

“These were in a drugstore, protected from the elements.” The most “recent” was dated December the 31st, 2015. Some of the others were weekly publications. “Whatever happened,” Doc said, “must have been either that day, or during the early hours of January the 1st. And it was really fast.”

“I’d like to know if anything unusual was reported before the Event.” Marty and Jennifer heard the capital “E” clearly. “Let’s take a paper each, and see what was happening.”

They began to read, and aside of normal news, there were some reports about strange creatures attacking Japan. “Hey, Doc, this looks like a Godzilla movie got too real…”

Doc nodded, “Amazing technology… just the weight… and making them able to fight… amazing.” he mumbled, “Here, look at this!”

He showed them a picture of a robot like giant. “The paper calls this an Evangelion Unit. Look at the size! It must be…” he ran a quick calculation, comparing the robot to the buildings around it, “…about 300 feet tall!”

“Wow… that’s Godzilla size!” Marty admired the robot. “This thing looks really mean and lean!”

“Yes.” Doc agreed. “It’s visage looks made to intimidate.”

Jennifer shuddered, “It looks angry. Like it wants to lash out at any moment, just waiting for an excuse.”

Marty agreed, “Purple and green, those are villains colors…”

Doc looked at him strangely.

Marty hurried to explain. “Have you noticed most heroes, like Superman or Captain America, or Wonder Woman, wear bright colors like red, blue, yellow, and white? The villains tend to wear dark colors, like green and purple. This guy here looks like it was designed by Lex Luthor! Purple with green accents.” Jennifer and Doc looked at him strangely. Marty continued, “Dave used to loan me his comics, okay?”

Jennifer was not about to push Marty about his hobbies, and dropped the matter, “What’s this Third Impact stuff? The paper talks about it like it would be worse than a nuclear war.”

“And if they fear a Third Impact..?” Doc mused.

“There had to be a First and a Second Impact!” The teenagers chorused.

“Exactly. Maybe there’s a reference to them. They must have happened between now and… maybe 2010, I guess. 2012 at the most, or there would be more explanations about them in the papers. Keep on reading and let’s see if there are more clear mentions to the Impact Events.”

They kept on reading. Taking ocassionally notes and highlighting the papers.

An hour later, they had several clear facts, a lot of questions, and many conjectures.

Doc put evertything in three columns on the blackboard.

* * *

**_Fact: Catastrophic Event, dated 12/31/2015 or 01/01/2016 (Third Impact?)_ **

**_Fact: First and Second Impacts (find out more)_ **

**_Fact: Gigantic Robots fighting Monsters in Japan (Tokyo-3, where is that place?)_ **

**_Fact: UN sponsors the agency (NERV) that uses the robots._ **

**_Fact: The Monsters (Angels) are unique. Available sighting reports detail a different shape and M.O. for each._ **

* * *

**_Question: What happened during First and Second Impact?_ **

**_Question: Why are the Monster attacks centered in Tokyo-3?_ **

**_Question: Why teenaged pilots?_ **

**_Question: What’s that cable/hose behind the Evangelion Units? Fuel? Electricity? Exhaust? Venting system? Cooling system?_ **

* * *

**_Conj.: Was the Event the Third Impact?_ **

**_Conj.: Energy source for Evangelion Units, Nuclear? Electric? Fusion? Fossil fuels? Hidrogen?_ **

**_Conj.: Monsters’ origin. Alien? Extra dimensional? Man-made?_ **

* * *

Doc tapped the board several times, and passed a hand over his wild hair. “We need to know more. Much more. The papers are but the bare bones of what we need to know.”

He paced around the room, while Einstein looked at him, whining. “Marty, Jennifer, we need to go back to the future! Gather knowledge, resources. Maybe bring back some future technology that could give us the solution to this predicament!” he stopped himself, and added gravely, “l cannot ask you to come with me.” He put his video camera on the table. “Not without you knowing what’s there. I documented my visit as best I could, Marty is a much better camera man than me, that’s for sure.”

He extracted the video tape, and put it in the VCR, rewinding it to the very beginning.

He pushed play, and averted his eyes. His recorded voice sounded happy as he said. “ _Um, hello, this is Doctor Emmet Brown. After the successful test of the time machine, I’m about to embark on an historical travel.”_ The image shook and wobbled, as Doc had obviously tried to turn the bulky camera around inside the tight confines of the DeLorean. _“As you can see, my date of departure is October 26, 1985,” a pause, and more shaking, “02:37 A.M.”_ his fingers pressed the buttons for the target date _. “And I plan on traveling, exactly 30 years into the future. Arriving in the early hours will reduce the risk of materializing over any other vehicle. Hopefully, there will be no solid obstacles in my path. Along with me comes my faithful companion, Einstein. I will continue this log once I have found an appropriate place to park. This is Dr. Emmet Brown.”_

A blur of static, and the frantic face of Doc filled the screen. _“So-so-something awful has happened in Hill Valley! Instead of finding a technological paradise, I am currently parked in what I can only call… a ghost town. Buildings and other structures show obvious signs of neglect and disrepair. Several buildings show signs of fire, and there are cars crashed on buildings. I can see evidence of several traffic accidents. I have not seen signs of weapon discharges of any kind. Einstein and me are currently in the time machine. I… I think we should remain inside and wait for dawn. Maybe in the morning we will find some answers. I’ll stand guard in the meanwhile.”_ The screen went to black.

The screen showed a panning view of the Hill Valley plaza, this time, it was clear to see what Doc had meant during the previous segment. It was as if everybody had disappeared from the face of the Earth. _“I’m Doctor Emmet Brown. I am ashamed to have fallen asleep. I count myself lucky that nothing happened during the night. I feared there could be residual radiation, but the Geiger counter only registers normal background radiation. Einy refuses to come out the car, and I don’t blame him in the least. Whatever happened here, it was fast. Maybe an evacuation? Could there have been an accident that forced the inhabitants to flee? I’ll try to enter a building and see if I can find out.”_

Next, shaky shots inside a house. _“I’m in number 34, Main Street. In 1985, this place was a dance studio, now it seems to be a tailor shop. I remember there was an apartment on the top floor. I chose this place due to the large windows, that allow sunlight inside. I have a flashlight, but I want to save the battteries for as long as possible. The glass is intact, only dirty. The door is locked. I’ll not speculate if that is related to the Event or not.”_ Sounds of broken glass.

The inside was covered by a fine layer of dust. _“The ground floor is neatly organized, the bolts of cloth are orderly piled. Measuring tapes… scissors… needles… everything is stored in its proper place. They had time to put things in order. Not in a hurry.”_ He checked behind the counter. _“There’s some money here. I’ll just leave it where it is.”_

 _“The apartment is still here. It was easily accessible. The door was open. It shows obvious signs of occupation. There was food in the fridge, and on the kitchen table, all spoiled. The bedroom is… strange… the bed is…”_ the screen showed a very normal bed, with sheets and blankets. Strangely, part of a pijama top could be seen under the sheets. _“I don’t know what to think of this, it looks like somebody tucked a pijama.”_

 _“The pillowcase is stained, as if some orange fluid had soaked in it an was left to dry.”_ A hand entered the frame, and pulled the sheets up. They were almost glued to each other, but after a couple of seconds, they separated with a noise like ripping paper. _“The stains seems to occupy the place and shape of a person.”_

Blank screen

_“This drugstore wasn’t there in 1985; if I remember correctly, this was a video rent store. The door was not closed, as the 24 hour service ad proclaims. Behind the counter I found a crumpled uniform, with crusted orange flakes. Consistent to the ones I found before. This looks like a sick joke. And I pray to God it is. If it’s not… I fear to think what could have happened to these people.”_

Black screen

_“This is Doctor Emmet Brown, I have explored this place for as long as I dare. I don’t want to spend another night here, I will take with me some physical evidence, mainly newspapers I found, that may have a clue about the days before the Event. I’m going back to 1985.”_

Doc stopped the video. “The rest, you already know. I will go back to 2016, and try to find more about the Impact events. Maybe camp there, if I can find a defensible place.”

“Doc…” Marty licked his lips, “Count me in.”

“Wait a minute, you two. This is not a Boy Scout expedition.”

“Jennifer! We need to know!” Marty said.

“Yes, we need to know, but think for a moment. Who knows what dangers could be waiting. If we are going into the unknown, I insist we go well prepared. And I’m not letting you two out of my sight. The future will have to wait a bit while we plan.”

“Well thought, Jennifer. We need walkie-talkies, camping equipment, food and water, the works!”

“And plutonium.” She added.

“And plutonium.” Doc agreed, without thinking.

“Wait, where are we going to get more plutonium?”

“The question is not _where_ , Marty.” Jennifer answered with a smug grin.

* * *

**_Author Notes:_ **

The details of the EVA program would be secret, like exactly what it is that makes them move (souls), and the reason why only teenagers could pilot them (psychological trauma), but NERV and SEELE wouldn’t even try to keep their existence a secret once the Angels arrived.

They know the pilots are teens, because Asuka’s role was widely publicized by Germany (its kinda difficult to hide the loading of a giant red robot on a cargo ship, escorted by the Pacific Fleet, crossing the Mediterranean Sea ).

The papers would try to get news about those very expensive toys, and speculate to their hearts content. Some of their theories would prove correct, others not so much.

Arbitrarily, I decided Third Impact happens at roughly 2:00 P.M. local time in Tokyo-3, that would have been around 9:00 P.M. in California.


	3. Silence and Lies

**_Hill Valley, October 30, 1985  
After School_ **

“I am amazed the Doc didn’t think about it.” Marty said, scratching his head. “I mean, it’s really obvious.” He walked around a kid dressed as a cowboy, who surely had convinced his parents to let him wear his Halloween costume a day early.

“You two were still reeling from what you had gone through. You coming back and finding everything was different, Doctor Brown seeing a dead city. Compared to that, mine was easy.”

“Well, yes… still, it had to have been weird…”

“Yup, until you started to remember. The timelines really fused together.”

“I don’t know if I’ll keep my original memories along with the new ones, or only this timeline…”

“Don’t worry about that. We are going to mess with time. So I’ll have the same problem.”

There was one house without any Halloween decorations. Brown Manor. Doc hardly even noticed the seasons, much less the holidays, always busy working. The garage door was wide open. Doc and Marty had spent the evenings repairing the damage. The car still looked a bit banged up. But the important parts had been replaced, repaired and assembled. The DeLorean was ready.

“Ah, Marty, Jennifer! Glad to see you!” Doc was busy covering the car with a tarp. The white truck’s extendable ramps already waiting in position. “The suits are here.” He tapped on a box next to him.

“Uh, Doc? Isn’t the government going to be watching this kind of buys?”

“I own the factory, Marty. It’s a very small side business of mine. I sell the suits to hospitals and small outfits dealing with radiation. These were registered for purposes of quality control. Duly checked.”

“Uh, that’s good, Doc.”

Doc used his remote control, to guide the car into the truck. Once it was inside, he flipped a switch, and the machine turned off. Another switch, and the ramps retracted. The door closed itself a moment later. Doc turned the remote off, and retracted the antenna. “I suggest we all go to sleep, we meet again at the Lone Pine Mall at, say,” he checked his right wristwatch, “1:00 am. We spend a few hours investigating, and we return a minute later.” He checked his left wristwatch, “at 1:01 A.M.!”

“I prepared some equipment, packed three backpacks, one for each one of us. I got a good deal in emergency rations. I wouldn’t trust we could find any edible food in the future. Who knows how long we will stay in the future until we can find the data we need. For starters, we need to find out about First and Second Impact. We need to check the Library, and the City Hall.”

“Doc? Also the School.”

“Yes, yes! Good thinking, Marty,” he wrote a note in a small notebook, “Our reach will be limited, of course. Depending completely on the DeLorean’s fuel tank, and on paved roads. I already checked the Mall parking lot. It is in acceptable state for our purposes. That will be our arrival point.”

“I wish we could take my truck… 4x4… seats for everybody… extra cargo space…” Marty mused.

Doc stopped in his tracks, and looked at Marty with big round eyes. “Top speed? Can it reach 88 mph??”

“Uh, yes. 110 tops.”

Doc mumbled a series of numbers, tapping his forehead with his left fist. “Amazing! Marty! Your truck would be of great help! Converting it into a second time machine would multiply our reach in distance and cargo! We can even carry jerrycans of fuel!”

“I would have to convince Dad first. He might not take it well if we just put holes in it!”

“Would take about two months to convert it, anyway I need to order the parts, refine the data, make calculations. Build a new flux capacitor…”

“I’ll talk to him later, Doc. Maybe tell him the mods are for some rally or something.”

Doc shook his head, “First things first. Get in the house and try the suits on. Tonight, bring warm clothes, comfy shoes, scouting boots if you have’em. I’ll bring some helmets and leather gloves. Can’t be too careful. First aid kits too.”

“What about Einy?” Jennifer was busy petting the dog.

“Right, right. I’ll leave him at the vet. He needs a check-up anyway.” Einstein whined at hearing this.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby, buddy. A grooming session will do you good!”

* * *

**_Lone Pine Mall.  
October 31, 1985; 01:05 A.M._ **

Two twin tracks of fire shone bright in the night.

* * *

**_Lone Pine Mall Ruins  
October 27, 2016, 08:57 A.M._ **

A booming noise heralded the arrival of the time machine.

“Are you two okay?”

Marty and Jennifer looked at each other, Marty answered, “Sure, Doc.”

The scientist nodded, “City Hall is closer, let’s go there first.”

* * *

**_Hill Valley City Hall  
October 27, 2016, 09:07 A.M._ **

“There’s something strange here, but I can’t put my finger on it…” Jennifer whispered, looking all around, while Doc drove the DeLorean on the empty streets, ocassionally going round an obstacle. A fallen tree, a crashed car.

Doc drove carefully. Slowly, looking constantly around. “The effect could be only local, or worldwide, or anything in between.” He switched a small radio on. “This little one will scan for transmissions. One of us should carry it constantly. If it receives a transmission, we will for certain there are survivors, if not… well… maybe they are not transmitting.”

They parked in front of City Hall. Doc opened the car trunk, and passed a backpack to each of his companions. “Here you go. Tools, rations, first aid kit, flashlight, walkie-talkies, extra batteries. Let’s test everything works before entering this or any other building.”

They did so. Doc gave each a miner helmet and a leather belt. “Clip the battery pack to your belts, same with the walkie-talkies.” He demonstrated with his own equipment. “Let’s stay on sight of each other. No one wanders away.”

Marty and Jennifer looked at each other and nodded gravely. “Got it, Doc. Together. Not really a good place to go alone, anyway.”

The silence was deep and oppressive. The only sound was the radio hum, as it looked for a transmission.

“This feels even worse than I thought, Doc.” Marty whispered.

“Like being the last people in a dead world,” Jennifer agreed. “It’s horrible.” She hugged herself for a moment, and Marty wrapped her into his arms.

Doc tapped Marty’s shoulders and looked at them, “The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back. Let’s get to work. Okay?”

* * *

The search in City Hall was almost useless. It seemed a few extra taxes had been added since 2002, some for reconstruction of the country, some to reestablish trade, and to finance a new UN organization. NERV.

“It seems the UN finally got its act together after the year 2000.” Doc grumbled, “Second Impact Recovery Tax, 2002… Second Impact Rationing Program… UN Pacific Fleet Upkeep Tax…” He tapped at a document, “This gives us an approximate date for Second Impact.” He rubbed his forehead.

“We’ve been here for hours, Doctor Brown.” Jennifer stretched her arms.

“Let’s take a break, I think we should eat something.”

“Not hungry, Doc.” Marty shook his head.

“Me neither. It would be like eating in a graveyard.” Jennifer pushed away the book she had being reading.

“I completely agree, but nourishment is needed.” Doc shrugged, opened his backpack, and pulled a package out. “Cold meal rations. Army surplus. Will keep us going.”

They ate in silence.

* * *

**_Hill Valley High School  
Library, 3:18 P.M._ **

“Man, this is heavy.” Marty groaned. He carried a pile of books to a table. Doc and Jennifer had cleaned the surface of dust and debris. “Physics, Science and History. Just as you asked for, Doc.”

“Well, done. Let’s see how the world changed in 30 years.”

* * *

 ** _Later_**.

“Ah, here it is! The elusive Second Impact!” Squinting, Doc read from the History book. “September the 13th, year 2000, a small meteorite impacted the Antarctic, melting the ice cap and causing tsunamis and rising the sea level. Great Scott! Four inches wide?? At 95% the speed of light??” He stood up and began to pace around. “This can’t be!!”

“Uh, in English, Doc?”

“That size, at that speed… No. Impossible!!” The scientist mumbled.

“Doc!!”

“Look here!” He pointed at a portrait in the book, it was a dark skinned man, somewhat portly, with a pencil thin mustache. “This man, supposedly managed to register the meteorite 15 minutes before the impact.”

Jennifer took the book and read the text. “Ceimoa Nan. Mexican astronomer. Strange name.”

“There was no time to warn anybody.” Marty gasped.

“No. A meteorite that small, at that speed?” Doc scoffed. “It conceivably could do that much damage, depending on the angle of entry. No. That’s not what bothers me. Detecting it fifteen minutes before impact?” He pulled out a pocket calculator, “Fifteen minutes, multiply by sixty seconds, multiply by .95 the speed of light… that would put the object…”

“Doc? English?”

“The speed of light in a vacuum is 186,000 miles per second, 95% of that is 176,700 miles per second, right?”

“I’ll take your word for it, Doc. Math is not my forte.”

“That’s just one second. Imagine something four inches wide, traveling at that speed. And you just happen to detect it? Fifteen minutes before it hits? At a distance of 159,030,000 miles?”

He shook his head at the blank looks he got in return, “Let me put it this way, 15 minutes at 95% the speed of light… would be equivalent to… 14.25 light minutes.”

“What does that means, Doctor Brown?”

The scientist took the book again, pointing at Ceimoa Nan’s picture. “It means that this guy managed to fotograph something a bit bigger than a softball moving at 176,000 miles per second at a distance that falls somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.” He threw the book down at the table, where it kept open on the offending pages. “I hardly think technology could advance enough to make such a feat possible in only fifteen years!!”

Marty and Jennifer looked at each other.

“I call bullshit, if you pardon the expression.” Doc snorted. “Something stinks here, this explanation is too easy, too simple. Something happened there, but I’m sure it wasn’t a meteorite.”

“Then what did it?” Jennifer took the book, looking at the page.

“I don’t know. But I bet this crap is just a cover-up.” He slapped the page with the back of his fingers.

“Hmm,” he looked again at the book. “Hah! First Impact! The collision that created the Moon! Nothing to worry about.”

“What about Third Impact? Another meteorite?”

“Could be, but from what we found in the papers, the UN thought it would, somehow, be caused by the monsters. The Evangelion Units were built to stop them.”

Jennifer thought about it, “Wait… that makes no sense.”

“Why? Giant robots agains giant monsters? Kinda makes sense in my book.” Marty shrugged.

“No, no. That’s not it. It’s the timing. Why build giant robots to fight giant monsters _before_ any giant monster appeared? Second Impact was supposed to be a meteorite, First Impact a planetoid. Millions of years apart. Why expect a Third Impact so soon? And with giant monsters instead of another space rock?”

Doc gasped, “Great Scott! They knew. Somehow, _they knew_ there would be giant monsters.”

* * *

Doc selected a bunch of books to bring back to 1985, both textbooks and reference. The history books… he had hesitated until Jennifer pointed out that even if the Second Impact entry was fake, other events would be true.

As they came out the building with their cargo, they dropped the books.

They were not alone.

At the other side of the street, a teenage girl stood in silence, looking at them with sadness on her face.

She wore a blue dress with a white blouse. But the really striking thing was her hair. It was blue! Her skin was very pale, and her eyes were red! Like an albino!

She looked at them for a moment, and vanished!

* * *

**_Author Notes:_ **

Wow… once I began to check the numbers, the whole public version of Second Impact just falls apart!

* * *

Something that has always bothered me, is Rei Ayanami’s first appearance. it’s never addressed, much less explained, how and why she appears near Shinji at the train station in the first NGE episode, at the same she is physically in the Geo-Front Hospital, too wounded to even sit up!

My personal theory is that the ghostly Rei belongs to a previous timeline. Some dialogue in the Rebuild movies seems to support this. Kaworu Nagisa seems to be aware of previous versions of the story


	4. Paradoxical Planning

“Did you see that?" Marty was turning around wildly, looking for the girl. "Where did she go? She was standing there and poof! Gone!"

Doc squinted, looking around suspiciously. "...Yes, I did see something."

Jennifer was picking up her books, "it was a..."

Doc waved his arms, "Don't say a word, nor you, Marty!"

Marty stopped on his tracks, "But, Doc, that was..."

"No, no, no, Marty, not a word, not a word!" He dug in his pockets, taking out his notebook and a mechanical pencil. He flipped the notebook open. "I want you two to write a description of what you saw. I will do the same. In case it was a hallucination, I don't want we influence each other's perception."

He began to write, Marty and Jennifer exchanged a look, shrugged, and did as the Doctor had ordered.

* * *

Marty's notes read, "strange girl, short blue hair, very pale. Kinda pretty, but sad too. Had a blue dress, white blouse, black socks, didn't see her shoes."

Jennifer had drawn a sketch, despite having seen the girl for only a few seconds, the sketch was quite recognizable. Her notes were just as brief as Marty's. Noting the pale skin, blue hair and red eyes, something that Marty had missed.

Doc's read, "Subject seems to be of Asian descent, corresponding to Japanese genotype, possible case of albinism, presenting pale skin and red irises. Blue hair, certainly dyed. Clothes similar to Japanese school uniforms, blue skirt with two suspender-like... unknown word for description, check encyclopedia; white blouse, short sleeves. No rings, bracelets, earrings or other accessories visible. Subject stood on the other side of the street, standing on the garden in front of the school. Subject seemed to vanish after approximately four seconds."

They compared notes after picking up the books.

"Kinda pretty, Marty?" Playfully, Jennifer elbowed Marty on the ribs.

"You know I only have eyes for you, Jennifer."

Doc compared their respective descriptions. "Well.." he lowered the notes, raising his eyes, looking to the point the girl had been. "We did see the same thing."

He walked slowly towards the other side of the street, mumbling, "Let's see..." the grass had grown, but it was sickly and yellow. "She was right over here, I believe..."

His companions were a couple of steps behind him. Using the pencil, Doc pushed the leaves of grass to a side, taking care not to break them. "Hum... this is unusual."

"What do you mean?"

"Look for yourselves." He stepped back, and looked around; while Marty and Jennifer examined the grass.

"Um... what are we looking at, Doc?"

"There's nothing there, Doctor Brown."

"Precisely!" He waver a hand over the area. "Nothing! Not a trace of her presence. Not a track, not a fiber, not even a single broken or bent leaf of grass!"

He stepped into the grass, and counted, "One hippopotamus, two hippopotamus, three hippopotamus, four hippopotamus." And returned to the curb.

"Look! The dirt is dry and hard, my footsteps are barely visible. Yet detectable. But look at the grass!"

The dry grass was very fragile, multiple leaves had broken where Doc's weight had bent them.

Marty gulped, "do you think it was a... a..." he gulped, "a ghost?"

"Oh, Marty, don't you tell me you're afraid of ghosts!"

"No! No, of course not. I'm afraid of no ghost! It's just that... well... this place is really creepy!"

In the meanwhile, Doc had been studying the area. Finally, he stood up, and clapped his hands together to get rid of dirt and grass. The noise echoed all around them.

"Let's see if we can find a bookstore. I'd like to get reference books, popular science, technology," he paused, "astronomy."

"A phone book."

"What for? There's no one to call."

"No, no, Doc. To check for addresses. I mean, the library might be in the same place after thirty years, but the bookstores?"

"Ooh, right, right."

* * *

Eventually, the trio had gathered all the books that could fit in the DeLorean's small trunk. Along with a few examples of future tech to study.

"So, Doctor Brown, do you think my idea is feasible?" Jennifer asked.

"It is. Strangely, and paradoxically, I think it is, but we will need to take some precautions."

"Won't that cause paradoxes, Doc? Back in 1955 you were very much against the idea of messing with the space-time continuum!"

"Paradoxes? What do I care for paradoxes now, Marty? Look around! The future of the whole of the world is in danger! Paradoxes…" He grumbled, "Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Paradox precautions. We will need a pack of adhesive labels, for starters, a safe place far from Hill Valley, and to make a recording." He tapped his chin several times. "And a good assortment of sandpaper."

Marty raised a hand, "More Devo suits, Doc." The scientist nodded, and wrote everything in his notebook.

Jennifer sat down on a stone bench. "The old Delgado mine might be a good hiding place. It's been on sale for years. My aunt and her husband wanted to get a safe house in case of a nuclear war, but adapting the mine to be a bunker would be too expensive, the ground is too hard and too brittle at the same time. They would have to hire a lot of workers, so they went to Nevada instead (2). Everything else we can simply buy." Jennifer offered.

"Hum... Doc... I just had an idea. We should check the mine right now, while there's still light."

Doc checked his right wristwatch, "um… no. Night will fall while we arrive there, we need to drive slowly on uneven ground." He looked at his young friend, "What do you expect to find there, Marty?"

"Make a guess."

Jennifer laughed.

* * *

_**Delgado Mine** _   
_**After clearing the entrance, traveling down the tunnels.  
And opening a side passage marked "ELB", "MMF", and "JP"** _

"Great Scott! This has freed our future movements in a major way! Marty, record this, we will need proof of this finding!"

* * *

_**Lone Pine Mall** _   
_**October the 26th, 1985** _   
_**1:36 A.M.** _

"What about that talk about screwing up future events?" Marty asked, disbelieving what had just happened. "The space-time continuum?"

"Well," Doc smiled, "I figured, what the hell?"

"And a good thing you did, Doctor Brown."

"Je-Jennifer?"

"What are you doing here at this ungodly hour, Miss Parker?" Doc hurried to use the wooden tablet with his notes, to cover the bullet holes in his radiation suit and the reassembled, yellowed letter Marty had wrote in 1955.

"You got the words out of my mouth, Doc. Jennifer, what's going on?"

"Well, for starters, I'm right at this minute, sleeping on my bed, and I'm here to..."

An explosion shook the whole place, it came from the photo booth where the lybians vehicle had crashed.

"What was that?"

"They had an RPG launcher…" Marty wheezed.

"Do you think..."

"Must have detonated in the fire (1)." Doc grabbed their arms, "C'mon, let's make tracks. This place is very empty at this late hour, but the noise and the fire will certainly be noticed. Marty, you and Miss Parker take the DeLorean, and take that exit. I'll meet you at my home in..." he checked his left wristwatch, "twenty minutes. Oh, Wait, Marty, help me load the... um... yellow trunk in my truck." He threw a very heavy fabric over the trunk.

"I know what's in there, Doctor Brown. Marty, help the doctor, I'll drive the Delorean. Hurry!"

"Uh.. yes, Okay." Marty grunted when he and the doc lifted the box. Guessing the reason, Doc commented, "Lead fiber cloth, will keep our exposure to radiation low. Now, be careful not to drop this baby."

* * *

_**Manor Brown** _   
_**2:06 A.M.** _

"So, young lady, time to talk. What's going on?" Doc asked, as he pulled his key ring. Only to find the door was open.

"Good, they are already here!"

"Who?" Doc demanded, opening the door.

"Us. Enter and close the door." Doc grumbled, sitting on a couch.

"Great Scott!" Doc exclaimed, screamed his head off, and promptly fainted, only for Marty and Jennifer to catch him.

"I told you this would happen, Doc." Marty commented. Sitting on a chair. Doc simply grunted.

Jennifer grunted, "Marty, honey, you better help us, the Doctor is not exactly light."

Marty looked at the two Docs, at the other him, and his voice cracked, "ah… um… Back from the future?"

"Yes." The trio chorused.

"Oookay… this is getting heavy duty…" Marty shook his head.

**_Later on_ **

"I must say… this is the strangest experience in my life…" Doc wiped his forehead with a cloth, staring at his counterpart.

The trio had agreed to call the versions from the future "A"s, and the ones from the present "B"s, to manage the complications time travel added to the tenses. They also had sticky notes denoting their letters.

Doc A inserted the tape into the VCR, "Normally, I wouldn't mess with history. But there is no future for anybody unless we do something."

Marty B and Doc B watched Doc A's recording in the dead world of 2016, paling more and more by the minute. Until Doc A paused the VCR.

"But what can we do?" Marty B asked.

Doc A snorted, "Investigate, of course. Our visits to Dead Valley were limited. Due to our limited plutonium. We need much more. And that's were you enter."

"I doubt there will be more Libyans with stolen plutonium around here." Doc B said.

"Yeah, they got very crispy…" Jennifer slapped Marty B's arm.

"We need you to replicate the trip, but only take four plutonium bars. One round trip for me, one for the three of us. We will take the rest and store them safely. We will get the container at some point before your trip."

Doc scratched his head, "How do you know this is going to work? My mind boggles at the implications of this plan!"

"We have proof." Doc A pressed Play, "Look at this. This scene is proof that Jennifer's idea is solid. It will mean a lot of work for us three, but it is doable". Doc B's eyes almost popped out from his face.

"Plus, this will get you in the good graces of the government." Jennifer tapped a finger on the arm of her chair.

Doc B raised his eyes from the images in the TV. "Really?"

"You will be a hero, Doc!"

Both Docs glared back at him.

* * *

**_Author Notes:_ **

First of all, an apology, this last week has been very stressful, due to job related stuff, and taxes related stuff... I've had no time to write and polish the text.

(1) It has always irked me that there's no follow up to the lybians subplot. I doubt those two were the only ones involved with Doc Brown, and the crash on the photo booth wouldn't have killed them... so...

(2) Specifically, to Perfection Valley, Nevada. Again, nothing to do with the plot, but I love those movies!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Pair-a-docs Planning (1)** _

* * *

_**McFly house** _   
_**October the 27th, 1985, 20 minutes after Dr. Brown's return** _

George McFly went to close the door of the garage. His son had asked for a favor for his eccentric friend, Doctor Brown. Apparently, the man had received some very bad news, and was in no state for driving. Marty had offered to take Dr. Brown home. George smiled at his son's generosity and also at the oh, so very transparent impulse to take his new truck for a ride.

George had known about the man for far longer than Marty had even been alive. Since the 1950s, in fact. The man had always been eccentric, but harmless. Marty had learned a lot from him, science, history, work ethic even. George had already decided to gift one of his courtesy books to the scientist. He had it ready for delivery, dedicatory and everything.

But as George went to lock the door, a casual glance at the car piqued his curiosity.

He stopped in his tracks, a strange expression on his face. He walked back, and looked at the car. Really looked at it.

"It's... oh, god... it's full of cables!(2) This is not a car, it's a scientific experiment!" He followed the bunches of wire, and eventually, he glanced into the passenger compartment. At the right side of the steering wheel, he saw several rows of numeric leds, each one under a set of demo labels, the words in them shook him to the core.

_Departure time._

_Present time_

_Destination time._

George stumbled, memories he had not paid attention to began to rush back into his mind. He had to sit down, his hands trembling. He wiped his mouth with a hand, and walked around the car.

"It cannot be..."

Suddenly, he remembered a guy around his age, a kid with strange mannerisms and slang, dressed with strange clothes. Who didn't know some elemental things, but knew others that were ahead of their... time...

"The rug... the fire... the clothes... what was his name... Kevin? No, Calvin... Calvin Kane?" George pulled out the notebook he used to write down ideas for his stories, he would need to ask Lorraine about him. He hadn't thought of that name for a long time…

George followed the cables, looking again into the passenger compartment, the labels still were there. "Departure Time"? "Present Time"? And... "Destination Time"? He whispered to himself. "What do they mean? What?"

He stumbled into the house, and without realizing it, he pulled the ladder to the attic, and up he went, to where his old school stuff was stored. He was a very organized man, and it took only a few minutes to find what he was looking for. The notebooks from 1955, the year his life had turned around, when he had found the love of his life, with the help of... Calvin Klein. That was the name. Calvin Klein... just like the clothes brand.

He found the stuff he had almost forgotten. Darth Vader, the planet Vulcan... the strangeness before the dance. He had never told anybody about those things, and he was surprised when they appeared in entertainment decades apart from one another. Vulcan was no biggie, it was the name of a theorized planetoid inside Mercury's orbit. It was later proved that Vulcan did not actually exist, but it was a good name anyway. (3)

Darth Vader had been a nasty shock back in 1977, there was no obvious source for it. Though he thought it was simply a strange coincidence that George Lucas had put the same name for his most recognizable villain. Though considering he had found the word Sith in the John Carter books (4)… well… maybe both had found the name in some long forgotten pulp magazine, and forgotten the source.

Slowly, George pulled at his hair. It was a tic he had had since elementary school. Not even finding his courage had cured him of it.

A strange picture began to form in his mind. Writing science-fiction prepared him to consider ideas other people might think absurd, like a strangely dressed alien meddling in the lives of two teenagers... he had played with the idea for years, until he finally got a handle on how to develop the plot for a novel length book. And… waaait a moment.

He flipped through the pages. The orders from Darth Vader, the Alien from the planet Vulcan, the nightmarish sounds assaulting his ears... he had heard something eerily close to that recently...

He thought he had dreamed all that. For years he had kept that a secret, the only one he had told was… Calvin Klein… That strange dream had been the beginning for George McFly, the first McFly in Hill Valley's history to make it. If not as big a name as Asimov or Heinlein, he was a modestly renowned writer. Short stories, two anthologies, and a novel just published.

Biff Tannen, his old bully and rival had brought the box of books into the house.

Biff... another thing that had changed. Had it not been for Calvin's encouragement... he gasped.

And to think... to think... what? That his own son had traveled back in time and for some reason be the most unlikely matchmaker in history?

Small pieces began to fit in his head.

And the last was the feeling of deja-vu he had had since last week, when he had seen Marty with his new vest. A blast from the past, indeed.

George stayed up in the attic for a long time, thinking.

He finally found the biggest piece of evidence.

Right in his school yearbook. 1955. Right there, in the section about the school dance, two pictures commemorating the event. The first one was of the whole class of 1955, except for Biff and his gang, who were who knows where when the picture was taken.

That just brought some memories.

But the second one...

Somebody had taken a picture of the band playing at the school, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters. Marvin Berry had a minor place in music history, as he was Chuck Berry's cousin. Chuck Berry himself had credited his cousin with the inspiration for one of his hits, Johnny B. Goode.

George remembered that song clearly.

For some reason, Calvin Klein had replaced Marvin Berry as the Starlighters guitarist, at the very last minute. And had played Johnny B. Goode. "An oldie where I come from." He said.

George gasped again. The strange way Calvin hopped sideways, just like Chuck Berry would do later on. The way he played the guitar over and behind his head, or how he pushed himself on his back, the strident notes played inhumanely fast, jumping down from the amplifiers.

And the last words he said on stage... "I guess you're not ready for this, but your kids are gonna love it."

Each one of those things set off a sense of Deja-vu in George years later. "Oh, c'mon!" He would say at a bar or a party, "I knew a guy who did that back in 1955! That's nothing new!"

No, it was nothing new. For Calvin Klein at least.

Right there, in the picture, hopping sideways in the stage, there was Calvin Klein, caught looking right at the camera. George guessed it had been taken when the band played Earth Angel. There was an awkward smile on Calvin's face.

...Marty's awkward smile...

George leaned back and exhaled.

Should he talk to Lorraine about this?

Maybe, but not before talking to Marty.

He rehearsed the scene in his mind. "Oh, hi, Son! Check this! I found an old picture with a guy who looks just like you!"

It could only go one of two ways. Either Marty went, "Oh, boy! It's true! He looks just like me!" Or would get very awkward about it.

He decided to think on it for a couple of days, but dinners would be an uncomfortable matter for a while.

* * *

_**Brown Manor** _

"We will need to find a better place than One Pine Mall for your trips to Dead Valley." Doc A observed.

"I chose it carefully! It is the perfect place!" Doc B protested.

"It is," Doc A agreed, "but for the next few days, it will be a crime scene!"

Doc B deflated. "Oh, yes, you're right… the lybians… Ahem! Let's evaluate the rest of the list, then." He put a notebook on the table. "What are our requirements?"

"Obviously, we need to keep Lone Pine Mall's qualifications. But closeness to the Delgado Mine would be a premium."

"The old Pohatchee Drive-In Theater!" Both Docs exclaimed at the same time.

"It's been abandoned since old Terrance Spencer died. His heirs haven't been able to sell the area. If only there was a water source close to it, maybe it would be a residential town, much like Hill Valley is. We could probably buy the whole lot for a pittance." Doc A grinned, "Anyway, the vacant lot is secluded, flat, and there's nothing but plains around! Funny how twenty miles make such a difference."

"And there's no one living there anyway, there's space for a whole vehicular convoy."

"Ex-actly what we need!"

"We will have to purchase some equipment."

"I'll take care of that, you draw the schedule for our arrivals."

"Very well. We are deliberately causing a paradox. We need to keep the order perfectly straight, or we risk losing… well… everything!"

Doc A patted his counterpart's shoulder. "If we fail… we will lose everything. And this wonderful planet will be a tomb."

"Just from your tape, I have an idea of what is coming." He shuddered.

"Oh, no. You don't." Doc A sighed and closed his eyes. "Not until you have been there. Then you will understand." He said, softly. "We have to prepare everything before you go."

"I still think we should see if we can find an alternate way to generate the needed 1.21 gigawatts."

"So do I, but it would need to be a portable source of energy. Able to generate that much energy! It would have to be a portable nuclear accelerator!"

"Let's focus on the task at hand, maybe once we have studied the data you brought from the future, we could try our hand at a portable source of energy for the time machine. Or machines. Eventually, we will need to travel to other parts of the world."

"Japan."

"Japan. We need to learn the language, especially in written form. We can't rely on a translator, for obvious reasons."

"One more item for the list…"

_**Later** _

"So, we are all in agreement."

"Sure, Doc. We the A-Team (4) jump a week forward at the Pohatchee Drive-In Theater, where the B-Team will jump to 2016, to preserve a close timeline for us." Marty said.

Jennifer A continued, "We take the plutonium to the Delgado mine, tag the containers with date and hour, and leave them there."

Doc A followed, "We take one bar, and jump back to five minutes before we arrived, and repeat the process."

Marty B scratched his head. "Wouldn't that cause a paradox?"

"As long as there are no events that prevent the existence of an object or person, their existence should be preserved. That's why we will use the rods in backwards order. The most recent version of each bar is the one we have to use. If we use an earlier version and drain it of energy… all future versions would be nothing but inert material… However, if we need to travel… we will have to take extraordinary measures to move radioactive material… We really need a cleaner alternative."

* * *

**_One week later._ **

**_Pohatchee Drive-In Theater  
Saturday November the 2nd, 1985; 10:00 AM_ **

The B-Team waited patiently inside Doc's truck, until the sound of thunder heralded the arrival of the A-Team.

As previously agreed, the B-Team kept two plutonium canisters, the rest were labeled with date and hour, and taken by the A-Team.

They departed immediately to the Delgado mine. During the week, the B-Team had set equipment to ease the transport of the plutonium.

* * *

**_Pohatchee Drive-In Theater  
Saturday November the 2nd, 1985; 09:55 AM_ **

The A-Team arrived.

* * *

**_Pohatchee Drive-In Theater  
Saturday November the 2nd, 1985; 09:50 AM_ **

The A-Team arrived.

* * *

**_Pohatchee Drive-In Theater  
Saturday November the 2nd, 1985; 09:45 AM_ **

The A-Team arrived.

* * *

**_Pohatchee Drive-In Theater  
Saturday November the 2nd, 1985; 09:40 AM_ **

The A-Team arrived.

* * *

Eventually, there were several boxes of plutonium in the side tunnel of the Delgado mine. Safely stored.

The A-Team returned to their own time, ready to continue, while their counterparts of the B-Team preserved a close facsimile of their own past.

* * *

**_Brown Manor  
Saturday November the 9th, 1985_ **

The next few days passed quickly. The preliminary steps for investigating the future were well on their way. The trio had already ordered a set of self-study books for each one. Doc had checked the phone book, looking for anybody from Japan who could mentor them, but couldn't find any Japanese surnames. The closest was a Chinese family that had been living in Hell Valley for so long they were completely assimilated into American culture.

* * *

"I don't get it, Doctor Brown. You could have been a hero, recovering the stolen plutonium would have put you in the government good books." Jennifer asked, while checking the list of the components that had just arrived, against their copy of the order.

"It would have also put me under scrutiny. We need freedom to act, and that kind of attention… brr… I have seen what it does; believe, I don't want it." Doc examined a circuit under a magnifying glass, satisfied, he put it back in its box and took another. "That's why I insisted on erasing every vestige of evidence Marty or myself could have left in the box. Down to using sandpaper to erase every trace. of course, those plutonium pellets will probably end up in bombs or nuclear reactors. But with the half-life of plutonium, no one will know the pellets are repeated, except for us."

"Well… at least Mr. McFly didn't put any objections to our modifying Marty's truck." Jennifer changed subject.

Marty entered Doc's workshop right on time to listen that last bit.

"Hey, guys! It's very weird, Jennifer. Dad has been acting strangely since the day you returned from 2016, Doc. I think he suspects something is going on."

"What do you mean?"

"He has been leaving his 1955 school yearbook around. There's a slip of paper in the school dance pages."

"Maybe he's nostalgic."

"Mom is the nostalgic one, and just for a few minutes at a time. Dad is the one who lives in the moment. He is also listening to Van Halen."

"So? He is at least willing to get up to date." Jennifer crossed an item in her list, and picked up the next.

Marty sat down, and opened his Walkman, putting the tape on the table. "I… well… .. Doc, remember we had to get Dad to go to the school dance?" He scratched the back of his head.

Doc looked at him through half-closed eyes, "What did you do, Marty? In detail, please."

Marty deflated, looked down, and said, "I used the rad suit, a hair drier and this tape to convince him I was an alien and ordered him to go to the dance. Or else, I would melt his brain."

Jennifer snickered, "And he bought it?" Meanwhile, Doc pinched the bridge of his nose.

Marty smiled sheepishly, "He thought it had been a dream…"

Doc sighed, "At least it put him in the right route."

"And he got the idea for his first novel!" Marty exclaimed happily.

Both Jennifer and Doc stared at Marty.

"I mean, have you seen the cover?"

Doc scrambled to get his courtesy copy, dedicated to "Doctor Brown, thank you for showing the future to my son."

"Great Scott! The alien does remind me of the radiation suit. Marty, your father writes science fiction for a living. If there is a kind of mind willing to consider and maybe understand the implications of time-travel… it is exactly his."

"You mean… we can tell him?"

"No. Not unless he asks directly. If he does, tell him we need to discuss the…"

The phone rang then, Doc picked it up. "Doctor Brown Enterprises, what can science do for you? Ah, yes, Mrs. McFly, he is here." He covered the speaker with a hand, and whispered quickly, "Marty, it's your mother, she sounds very agitated." He passed the receiver to Marty.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" he paused, both Jennifer and Doc watched as his face paled. "I'm on my way; yeah, I'll be careful. Bye!" He hung the receiver, "it's Dad, something happened, mom is almost hysterical with worry, the ambulance she called is on the way. Sorry, guys, I need to go." He was jumpin up and down with barely contained worry.

"Marty! I'll drive you, it's my turn and fair is fair." Doc stood up, and took the keys of his car. "Miss Parker, we can leave this for later."

Jennifer grabbed her jacket, "I'll go with you two, if it's not too much problem. You two get the car, I'll close the door."

"Right, let's go."

* * *

**_Author Notes:_ **

(1) This title was suggested by Author0fntent, a fellow writer in FFN. Thank you, buddy! Go check his work, people!

(2) Small reference to 2001, however, I must say that I really dislike the movie version. I prefer the book.

(3) True. The possible existence of the planet Vulcan was proposed to explain some irregularities in Mercury's orbit, in 1859. However, the irregularities were explained with Einstein's theory of relativity in 1915, In 1919, observations made during an eclipse, proved that Vulcan did not, in fact, exist.

(4) Yup, believe it or not, the word Sith really does appear in the John Carter of Mars novels. However, it is a species of carnivorous insects, dangerous due to their size and voracity.

(5) Almost a reference to the TV show. However, no one in Hill Valley knows about the A-Team, much less how to contact them.


	6. Unexpected Developments

**_Hill Valley General Hospital  
_ ** **_Main Waiting Room_ **

"Dad will be alright. The surgery went off without a hitch." Marty exhaled in relief, "Mom and Dave are with him now. He slipped coming down from the attic, hit his head and broke his left ankle. Mom heard the crash, and when she saw him bleeding, well… you know how she is. She managed to call an ambulance, then she called Dave." He shrugged, "and when Dave arrived, he suggested to call your home, Doc."

"Dad will have to stay here for a week or two, if everything goes well. They had to put a couple of nails in his ankle, but he will be okay, though he might need a cane to walk, depending on how the therapy goes. He got a bump on the head, so the doctors want to be sure he didn't get a concussion or something, the X-rays came out fine, just the bump. But as he lost consciousness, the doctors want to keep checking him in case there's some damage that didn't show in the x-rays." Marty sat bonelessly on a chair, visibly relaxing, "Mom and Dave are with him now. Linda cut her trip short, and will be here tomorrow morning. He wants to talk to me later, while Mom and Dave take a break. They are with him now."

Jennifer hugged her boyfriend, "Oh, Marty! I'm glad he's fine."

He hugged her back. "I'll go home and get him a few things. Dave is writing me a list, Mom was too worried to even think."

"I'll drive you there, Marty." Doc offered.

"Thanks, Doc." Marty kissed Jennifer's cheek, "I'll check back, out in a few!" He smiled nervously and went back to the elevator.

Jennifer wiped her face, "Could you drop me at home, Doctor Brown? I have a lot of homework to do."

"Of course, Miss Parker." Doc patted his pockets, "Ah, here they are." He produced his keys. He fumbled with the keychain, and the keys fell on the bunch of old magazines left there for the waiting relatives and friends of the patients.

When he took his keys back, his eyes fell on the cover. OMNI magazine, October 1984. It showed a strange contraption, that seemed to have been cobbled together from odds and ends and junk.

"Great Scott!" He whispered, dropping his keys again. With trembling hands, he took the magazine.

"Doctor Brown? Are you okay?"

He looked like he didn't know if laugh or sigh in relief. "Miss Parker, I think we should all go to New York!"

"Hum, Doc… we need parental permission."

"Um? What?" He was examining the picture in the cover.

"We are minors and that's a trip to the other coast."

"Oh, yes, yes…" he kept looking at the magazine. "I need more data. But this might be the answer." He rolled up the magazine, and walked decisively to the nurse station. "Oh, um, hello. Would it be much trouble if I keep this magazine?"

The nurse looked at Doc, Thought for a moment, and said, "No, but I would appreciate if you could donate another to the pile."

"Thank you. I'll come back tomorrow with some replacements." He smiled at her, and put the magazine in his back pocket.

Marty returned a minute later, list in hand. "Got it, a few toiletries, a couple of books, notebooks and pens. He, um… he got all mysterious, but Mom is fussing over him. I'll see if we can talk later."

"Marty, Jennifer, time to go." Doc walked quickly to the door.

His two friends looked at each other, and hurried behind him.

Once in Doc's car, Marty asked, "Doc? You look like the cat that ate the canary."

Doc chuckled. "Might be." He passed the magazine to Marty. "Remember this? It was about a year ago?" The cover of the magazine read "Quantum Leaps: Ghostbusters. Tools of the Trade." (1)

Marty's brow furrowed in thought. "The Ghostbusters? Yes. They were very popular for a few months. What are you planning, Doc? To try to capture our blue-haired friend?"

"If I'm right, they could help us a lot, but not that way. I need to re-read the article, and if this means what I think it means, I'll get in contact with them. Been a long time since I last visited New York."

* * *

**_Ruins of Tokyo-3, Japan  
October the 26th, 2016_ **

The soft sound of the waves was the only sound in the dead city.

Two teenagers watched the waves crash on the beach. They were lost in their thoughts.

It had been a long time since the last time they had spoken to each other. Neither felt the need to speak now.

They just sat on the sand.

Watching the waves.

Breathing the air.

Trying to ignore the smell of freshly spilled blood. They couldn't, but both were used to the smell of blood anyway.

Half submerged in the orange-tinted water, a gigantic head, it's halves looking blindly to the darkening sky. The features were curiously androgynous. And familiar too.

They were trying to ignore the look of madness in those eyes. They couldn't, but they were trying hard.

But more than anything, they were trying to ignore each other.

They couldn't.

Not really.

But they would try.

* * *

**_Hill Valley General Hospital  
Room 204_ **

Marty returned with the asked for articles. "I'm here, Dave. Got everything you wanted, Dad." He showed the bag he had brought.

From his bed, George waved happily at his youngest son. "Thanks, Marty!"

Dave stood up. His blue suit a bit wrinkled, his tie undone. "Great, Marty!" He turned to the patient. "I'll drive Mom home and stay with her, Dad. Don't go running around." He patted George's shoulder. His left leg had been wrapped in bandages, hanging from a rig. (2)

His father chuckled, that strange, halting laugh he had bubbling under the surface. "I was planning on going to sky!"

Dave smiled as he crossed the threshold, pointing playfully at Marty, "You're in charge, lil'bro. See you tomorrow, guys." He returned, pulling a few bills from his wallet, "Just in case, Marty."

"Thanks, Dave."

Once Dave was gone, Marty sat on the visitor's chair. "So, Dad. What's up?"

"Well… I have a question, and I would like an honest answer, Marty."

"Uh, sure…"

George stared at his son for long moments. "How it is? Time traveling, I mean."

Marty stammered, not knowing what to answer.

George laced his fingers over his stomach. "Son, you can't lie to save your life."

"Uh… well…"

"Easy, son. Breathe. Take your time. I'd like to know." There was infinite patience and fondness in George's eyes and voice. "Let me tell you what I pieced together. Back in 1955, I was just a student. I was saved from being run over by a car. It was a kid with strange clothes and expressions. I later got to know him a bit better, Calvin Klein, that was his name. Yup, just like the clothes brand, but then that brand didn't exist. For some reason, Calvin Klein was very insistent that I courted a very beautiful girl, Lorraine Baines. Oh, yes. Your mother. I had no idea of why that insistence. I was horribly shy those days, and just thinking of asking her put made me sweat and tremble."

Marty kept silence.

"But Lorraine was infatuated with Calvin Klein. He was brave enough to face down the gang led by Biff Tannen. The same one who barely scrapes a living now waxing cars. Back then, he was feared by everybody at the school, and even around town. I… well… he was my tormentor back then. But I digress. Eventually, Calvin agreed to take Lorraine to the school dance. But he planned to scare her, and let me rescue her from his evil clutches. Everything went just as planned."

"No, no, Biff surprised me and put me… in…" It took Marty a few moments to realize he had been tricked into confessing.

George stared at Marty, "Where did he put you, son? At this point, the cat is out of the bag."

Marty wiped his face. "He and his gang locked me into the trunk of Marvin Berry's car. He hurt his hand forcing the lock open."

"That's why he couldn't play. And you replaced him playing the guitar." George nodded. "You disappeared after the dance. No one saw Calvin Klein again."

Marty cleared his throat. "Uh… I was disappearing back then."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh… well… you see… I was at risk of not existing unless you and Mom fell in love… if you two hadn't kissed during the dance…" Marty trailed off.

"Oh, God! You wouldn't have existed at all!"

"In short, yes. I had a pic of Dave, Linda, and me. I put it in the guitar so I could check it. Dave had been disappearing gradually during the week before the dance. Linda followed during the dance." He swallowed before continuing, "if you hadn't come back and kissed Mom…"

George took long seconds to answer, as the consequences hit him. "You would have ceased to exist…"

"But when you pushed that slimy guy away from Mom, and kissed her, everything went back on track!"

George kept silent for almost two minutes, Marty recognized that silence. His father was thinking things through.

"A paradox. You were in danger of becoming a paradox." George grabbed Marty's arm, squeezing desperately. "And I would have never known."

He kept silent for a while. Thinking.

"Was it really necessary to blast my ears with heavy metal?" He smirked.

"You wouldn't have gone to the dance otherwise!" Marty protested.

"There's something that doesn't fit. There's no way things had gone like they did unless you were there. Are you sure things went back on track?"

Marty licked his lips and looked down. "I… um… I altered things."

"Not a stable time loop, then?"

Marty looked at his father, uncomprehending.

"Like in Terminator. The whole movie is a stable time loop. For a particular series of events to happen, there must be a time travel element. Or things unravel. In the movie, Skynet wants to get rid of its enemy, John Connor, so it sends a killer robot to the past to kill his mother. John Connor, in turn, sends a soldier to protect her, Kyle Reese. But Kyle Reese happens to be John Connors' _biological_ _father_. So, Skynet tries to change the timeline, only to create it in the first place." (3)

"No, things would have been very different. And bad for us. All of us."

"Maybe someday I'll ask you about that. But I can imagine that at the minimum, Biff would have kept on bullying me, and maybe…" he trailed off. "Now tell me why, despite the risk of erasing yourselves from existence, you and Doctor Brown are set on keeping traveling through time. Don't think I didn't suspect about those modifications to your truck."

"I…"

"Son. Marty. Look at me. Why?"

"Dad… the Doc went to the future. There's a catastrophe coming. Everybody will die unless we find a way to stop it."

George looked at his son's eyes, seeing a quiet horror in them. "I see. What can I do to help?"

Marty scratched his head, "I don't know, we are playing it by ear, Dad. We need to go to Japan and find out what happened. It will take time to prepare. Maybe months of work."

"And me incapacitated for months… but, I can help with planning, and surely other stuff. A coordinator, if you want. And I'm discreet."

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate it. I think the Doc and Jennifer will like your help."He visibly relaxed.

"I… um… for a moment I thought of asking if you could travel back and warn me about this, but I'd rather not risk a paradox." George shrugged. "So… what did you guys find at the other side? Must be terrible if you're so set in stopping it from happening.

* * *

**_Manor Brown  
Doc's Worshop  
Reading Table, Right Side_ **

Doc examined carefully the available pictures in the cover article. He set the magnifying glass/desk lamp, and soon he was copying the visible parts of the proton pack.

He took copious notes, carefully labeling the visible parts.

On the text, he had circled the most interesting part of the article.

"Portable Nuclear Accelerator"

His notes had those same words, and next to them, the crucial part.

"Fission or Fusion?"

"Energy source?"

"1.21 Gigawatts?"

"Repeated discharges?"

"Multiple units usable simultaneously?"

"Contamination risks?"

"Call the Ghostbusters."

This last one was underlined three times.

* * *

**_New York City  
Ghostbusters HQ  
Ground Floor_ **

"Well…that's it." Dr. Ray Stantz closed the door of the old fire station building. "No more ghostbusting…"

Winston Zeddemore patted the shoulder of his friend. "It was good while it lasted, Ray. At least you got to keep the place." He looked around, the building had been stripped bare of almost everything. He had kept the beds, and the services were paid for a couple of months.

"Yeah… no one wanted to buy it, so I'm stuck with the payments…" he waved his hands in a vague gesture of impotence, and dropped them at his sides.

"Buddy, I'll help with that. Least I can do for letting me stay."

"Thanks, Winston." Ray smiled sadly.

"Let me check with some friends; with some luck, we might get a job quickly."

"I'll get the papers."

* * *

**_Instrumentality  
October the 26th, 2016_ **

Inside the gestalt that was the last trace of Humanity, one of only three self-aware entities left in the world felt something she had thought lost forever.

Senses no human being ever possessed told her of the presence of an impossible anomaly.

A human soul, free of Instrumentality.

But…

If every human being had been absorbed, where had that soul come from? It was very far from the two she knew had escaped Instrumentality.

She would have felt any soul leaving the false paradise she had made for them.

The only two souls that had left of their own free will were in Japan.

This unknown soul shone bright in her senses. But translating that feeling into a place would take time.

Hours later, she had located the place. At the other side of the word.

Had she bothered with old, now meaningless names of places she had never known, she would have not recognized the name of a little city.

Hill Valley, California, USA.

When she arrived to investigate, she reconstructed a facsimile of the body she had before her apotheosis.

Before Third Impact.

To her surprise, when she arrived to Hill Valley, the soul was gone. Not absorbed back into the gestalt. It was completely gone. Except for a lingering trace, it was as if it had never been there.

The city was in complete silence, just as the rest of the world. The silence didn't bother her. It didn't even register in her mind.

So she searched the place. Methodically, as was her nature.

The only unusual thing she found was two lines of fire, burning bright in what had once been the parking lot of a mall.

She dissolved her body, and returned to Instrumentality.

Hours later, a second anomaly screamed at her senses.

Three human souls, existing free of Instrumentality.

Same place.

She returned to Hill Valley.

* * *

**_Author Notes:_ **

(1) The magazine was one of several mock-up covers from the montage after the first successful ghostbusting job at the Sedgewick Hotel.

(2) I'm not really familiar with the kind of surgery needed, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I thought the medical staff would need access to the wound, and putting a cast on would be a risk of infection.

(3) Terminator does imply an stable time loop, just as George described. The movie was released in 1984. I'm not sure if Marty would have been allowed to watch it by himself, as it was rated R, but George would have surely loved it, and with Marty being interested in science, George would have suggested watching the movie as an entertaining outing. Cue awkward facepalming during the sex scenes.


	7. Meeting (At the Other Side)

**_Please Read and Review._** I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm doing wrong (to correct it).

* * *

 **_New York  
_ ** **_Former Ghostbusters HQ  
_ ** **_February the 9th, 1986_ **

"Egon! What brings you here?" Ray Stantz opened the door, letting his colleague in.

"Hello, Ray. I received a very interesting letter. And I'd like to discuss its contents with you, if you have the time."

Ray scratched his head and checked his wristwatch, "Well... about forty minutes, I got a nice job managing a bookstore. Come up, I have a pot of coffee. Wanna breakfast?"

* * *

"So," Ray asked as he poured a second cup. "You got a grant, Uh?"

"Yes, I tried to convince the comitee to include you, but..."

Ray shrugged, "Don't worry, I know you tried. I appreciate it. To be honest, I'm a little wary of the academic side of things right now."

Egon Spengler shifted uncomfortably on his chair. "Ahem, yes. I'll try again next quarter. Now, about the reason for my visit, a few weeks ago, I got a curious letter from a Dr. Emmet L. Brown, from California. He has some questions about the specs of our proton packs. And has a proposal for us." He passed an envelope to Ray. "I made some discreet enquires about him, and he has the reputation of a complete crank in academic circles."

"One of us, Uh?"

"So it seems, but only in science. He was periferically related to some Top Secret research back in the late 1940s, he retired to his birth town in the 1950s, and since then, he has been working independently. Apart from quite a few eccentric projects that didn't work as intended, and which, confidentially, sound like ours; he has quite a few patents to his name. And he has an uncanny knack for discovering potential technological breakthroughs."

Ray glanced at the letter. Egon continued.

"He wants to cooperate with us. Based on his record, I calculate a probability of better than 89.57% he or his advisors have projected that the proton pack tech could have more applications than capturing ectoplasmic entities. Developing the proton pack tech into some kind of defibrillator that generates its own electric power, for example. That is something we never thought."

"But..."

"Ray," Egon leaned in, his eyes sparkling, "if this pans out, we could be at the forefront of truly revolutionary technology. With multiple applications."

"Umm... I..."

"Ray, right now, we four are drowning in debt. You and I hold the patent of the proton packs. Peter just wasted time trying to get laid. You and I did all the theoretical AND practical work. He didn't even sign on the patent papers. We can give him a share, but we have the rights to the patents, his input is not required."

"Yeah..." Ray looked down at the table.

"I can have a cousin of mine, recently graduated as a lawyer (1), draft a contract to protect our interests. Family discount, you know. Louis can manage the finance side. If this doesn't pan out, we keep the rights to our tech and all we lose is a little time. But if we can convert our nuclear accelerators into everyday technology... we would be..."

"Um... listen, Egon, I... I need to think things through. The bank repossessed my house and... well... the bookstore job is my lifeline right now."

"Of course, Ray." Egon patted Ray's shoulder awkwardly. "Brown will come to talk to us in a week. He wants to make his proposal in person." Egon stood up. "I'll show myself out, Ray. Lunch tomorrow? My treat."

"Ah, sure. Tony's?"

"11 sharp. See you there. If Winston can come too, he is very welcome. He has more street smarts than us three put together. I'd like his opinion."

"I'll ask him. See you tomorrow."

* * *

 **_McFly House  
_ ** **_Same Time_ **

"See you later, honey. Give my regards to the girls!" George waved goodbye to his wife as she closed her car's door. He rolled his wheel-chair back into the house.

He turned back to Marty, and pulled an envelope from his pocket. "This arrived with the morning mail, son. Doc did invest on the stocks we agreed. I'll have to hire an accountant to reinvest the profits, and pay the taxes... ugh..."

"So... are we close to our goal?"

"I think we can safely say that by the end of the year we could be quite... um.. filthy rich. We are shareholders of some of the most productive firms in the West Coast and a few in the East."

"We did lose a few hundreds of bucks." Marty commented.

"Of course we did, and we will have to keep doing the same from time to time. Otherwise, somebody would suspect. And that would influence the market too much. No, we better lose a few and no one will suspect a thing."

"Who would have thought there were so many small business back in the 1960s that would yield nice profits twenty years later?"

"That's the thing, no one can really predict what technology will work in the market. Or which business will thrive. Not without hindsight. And a time machine to play it safe."

"Yeah, still, I wish we could have hired somebody to do the research, it was the most boring thing since Economics Class with Professor Stein... and that guy is a sure cure for insomnia!" (2)

"I've heard of him. Economics is not the most exciting class, to begin with." He shrugged. "How are you doing with the Japanese?"

"Struggling, dad. I more or less manage the spoken part, the written part is what really gets me stumped. They have several ways to write the same word, and it changes meaning depending on the symbols they use… But practicing with Jennifer sure is fun. She has a head for languages. I hope we can get much better by the time we actually go to Japan. According to Doc, the epicenter of Third Impact was most probably there, in Tokyo-3. What I don't know is how are we getting there."

"I have some ideas. The worst would be to get a ship stashed somewhere in the coast, jump to the future, and sail through the Pacific towards Japan. Transporting the cars and the plutonium would be a nightmare if we try in the present time. An accident and…"

"Yeah, we kill everybody around. Don't remind me."

"That's why Dr. Brown has been looking for alternate sources of energy."

"I really hope he finds a way. He decided that going back to 1955 and start working there… then… ah, forget that. He decided the risk of a paradox wasn't worth it. So he has been corresponding with other scientists and going to conferences and everything. The last parts for the truck will arrive in two weeks, and once we install them, the Toyota will be ready for its first time trip." He smiled.

* * *

 **_San Francisco  
_ ** **_San Francisco International Airport  
_ ** **_Gate 5_ **

"It looks like you've led a charmed life." Doc Brown had been talking to the distinguished old gentleman who had sat next to him during the flight. Now they were both waiting for their respective flights, Doc had charted a small plane to get closer to Hill Valley, while his companion was bound to Chicago.

The man was old but spry, his skin tanned by the sun. He had a patch over his right eye, and a set of eyeglasses with only the left glass on. Obviously, there was no need for the glass on the right side. He was using his fedora as an improvised fan.

"Oh, yes. I've seen much of this world. So much history." He smiled, "the good and the bad of people. And stuff you wouldn't believe. I was one of the first archeologists to be allowed access to the Dead Sea Scrolls. My father would have given his right hand to even see the urns they were found in, you know?"

Doc nodded. "I would dearly love to see them too. Although my favorite historical period is the Old West." His eyes glazed for a moment.

"Really? Well... back when I was a child, one of my neighbors was an old cowboy, one of the very last. Let me tell you what he told me back when I was just a brat in short-pants. He was a soldier in the Civil War, he lied about his age to enlist, but his past came back to haunt him, and I got caught in the middle of it…"

* * *

"You should have been in the movies, Professor Jones."

"In a way, I have." The old man nodded, "Secret of the Incas. 1954 (3) with Charlton Heston as my alter ego, Harry Steele. Little known these days. And quite tame compared to what actually happened. Still, I got a nice vacation at Peru with my wife, and we had the privilege to listen Yma Sumac sing. Lovely voice, like hearing the angels' choir (4)." He paused, looking up to the loudspeakers, "Oh, I think they are announcing my flight, Doctor Brown." Both kept silent, confirming that the connecting fight was ready to receive passengers; he stood up, and shook Doc's hand. "It's been a pleasure talking to you. If you ever go to Chicago, ask for me at the Oriental Institute. I'm the curator." He added with a proud smile, as he pulled a card from his pocket. "It would be a pleasure to show you our collection."

"I'll do so, Professor." Doc took the card, and patted his pockets until he found his own cards. "Here's mine. My speciality is technical science. Solving problems creatively. Who knows, maybe I could help you with something."

They shook hands, and followed their separate ways.

* * *

 **_New York  
_ ** **_Jackson & Jones Building  
_ ** **_15th Floor, Meeting Room 3  
_ ** **_February the 17th, 1986, 12:57 PM_ **

"Egon, are you sure this is a good idea?" Dr. Raymond Stantz fidgeted with his tie. It had been a while since the last time he had worn one, and was out of practice.

"As much as the available data suggest, yes, I am. This is just a preliminary meeting. Winston? I trust in your opinion." Dr. Egon Spengler looked quite sharp, he was used to wearing bow ties, the better to keep the garment far from any potentially damaging chemicals.

"I'll be alert, Egon. I've dealt with my fair share of hustlers and con-men. Anything fishy, we get out of here and don't look back." Capt. Winston Zeddemore (5) tapped his fingers on the table.

"I'd rather we do this at the firehouse." Ray looked around, "This is kinda fancy."

"The building is in no shape for visitors." Egon noted. "The roof needs a serious overhauling, and there are not enough chairs for everybody. And that's just the building, the neighborhood has improved since we moved in, but it's not the best place for a good first impression."

"I know, but this place…" he waved around, "it may be rented, but it's more than I earn in a week. Per hour. I asked."

"It has all the accessories, I seriously doubt anybody would pay that much just for a con." Egon waved around. The meeting room had a phone/intercom, a slide proyector, blackboard with colored chalk, a mini fridge with soda cans, a coffee pot, and even high quality cookies, artisanal cookies. Not bought in bulk.

"It depends on the pot, Egon." Winston commented, taking a cookie from the platter. " Back in the Air Force, my crew and I managed to stiff a guy who had conned the granny of our drummer out of her savings. We got the money back, but had to pool our own money to sweeten the trap."

The phone rang, and Egon picked it up. "Yes? Aha. Of course. Thank you." He returned the phone to its cradle. "Brown and his helper are coming up. Look sharp."

They all checked their suits and ties were as neat as possible.

The door opened, and two men entered the room. The taller had a wild mane of white hair that gave him a passing resemblance to Albert Einstein. His eyes were bright and alert, with a certain spark of madness Ray recognized it from long experience. It was exactly the same look Egon had when engrossed in a problem.

"Good day, gentlemen!" The man said, "Glad to meet you, I am Dr. Emmet Brown." He put his portfolios on the table, And shook hands with Egon, Winston and Ray; while his companion, a kid of no more than 17 years, put a set of rolled plans on the table. "My young friend is my aide, Marty McFly."

"Hi! Nice to meet you, guys."

Once they had all shook hands, Doc pulled a chair, and invited everybody to sit down.

* * *

35 minutes, a bag of cookies, five cups of coffe and a soda later.

"This is exactly what I had hoped for! Clean energy, delivered at the push of a button."

"Doctor Brown, our proton packs are quite bulky and will require extensive modifications AND testing before we can be sure they can manage your requirements. 1.21 Gigawatts is a lot of energy. At the current output for one proton pack," Egon used his pocket calculator, "we will need three packs, and a way to synchronize them for a simultaneous release. Or find a way to increase the output." The next fine minutes consisted mainly of an exchange of technobabble between the three scientists.

"Of course, of course, Dr. Spengler. I had already taken that into account." Doc waved his hands excitedly, while Marty and Winston exchanged a look, both clearly thinking they had no idea of what the scientist had been talking about. "I have set a starting capital to cover the initial costs. Please, have your legal team contact mine, and draft a contract. I propose we start a new company, separate from both Brown Enterprises and Ghostbusters Inc."

Even Ray had gotten over his initial reticence, "We will need a name."

"Energy Incorporated."Egon proposed.

"Don't look at me, guys. I'm crap at naming things." Winston raised his hands.

"Lighting in a Bottle?" Ray scratched his head.

Marty was the last to propose a name. "Ah, well… the packs work with fusion, don't they? How about… Mr. Fusion?"

* * *

 **_Ruins of Tokyo-3  
_ ** **_March the 3rd, 2017_ **

Shinji Ikari barely managed to get out of his bed in the best of days.

This was not a good day.

His head hurt. For his life, he now understood Misato a little better. Just a little; unlike happened with her, beer didn't loosen his inhibitions, it just drew out his melancholy. Shinji was certainly not a happy drunk. He was lucky his limit was very low, half a beer, and he was down for the count for the rest of the night.

He looked blearily at the empty beer can, and to the sealed container that held the second half of the beer. After realizing his limit, he took care to pour half of a can into a hermetic container before consuming the other half. That way, he still had beer for later. He still couldn't enjoy the taste, though, but other alcoholic beverages hit him even worse. So, he stuck to beer, and rigorously kept his intake to once a week.

He put a clean set of clothes, brushed his teeth to get rid of the evil taste in his mouth, and went to prepare two breakfasts. Along with two bentos.

By mutual, silent agreement, he took one to his room; and left the other on the table, covered with a lid. As he passed the one door with a lock, he knocked twice and kept on walking. Behind him, he heard the lock being opened.

He closed his door, and as he sat at the small desk to eat, he heard the front door open and close as he finished.

She never spent a single moment in his company if she could avoid it. He resignedly returned to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

On the door, a note detailed his companion's plan for the day. She would check the stores and houses in the east side, so he would stick to the west side.

He grabbed his backpack, a flashlight, spare batteries, and went to work.

Scavenging food and supplies.

Hoping to finally see another human face.

Just one.

Please.

I'll be good.

Please.

Help me.

Somebody.

Help me…

* * *

**_Ruins of Tokyo-3_ **

Outside the city, there was a booming sound, followed by a flash of light. Then, a minute later, another boom and flash.

In normal circumstances, the noise and light would have been too far away to be noticed by the former Pilot. But in an empty, silent city, it was impossible to miss the disturbance.

* * *

**_Inside Instrumentality_ **

The entity that had once called herself Rei Ayanami waited with inhuman patience.

The two free souls events had not repeated, her attention was focused on the area they had happened before, ready to manifest herself there.

The arrival of new souls at Tokyo-3 took her by surprise.

It took her a while to create a body, as all of her prepared work waited at the other side of the world.

Time to solve this mystery.

There was enough humanity in her for her first emotion was a distant annoyance at the change in plans the unexpected arrival brought. Had the souls manifested in the same place, she would have assembled a body in mere minutes. Now, it would take several hours.

Still, she knew where they were. And once she had everything necessary, she would meet them.

Their route was clear. They traveled towards the ruins of Tokyo-3. They stopped occasionally, gathered for a few minutes, and moved again.

They changed direction twice, probably to go around some obstacle.

* * *

**_Author Notes_ **

(1) No, not Vincent Gambini; at this point in the timeline, Vinnie is still at school.

(2) Lets just say Professor Ben Stein moved to Chicago in 1986, before that, he lived in Hill Valley. Who's that guy, you ask? Ferris Bueller was his student.

(3) Secret of the Incas is one of the influences in the making of Indiana Jones. I thought it would be nice to have Professor Jones making an appearance here, much like in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

(4) Yma Sumac (1922/2008) was a Peruvian singer, she indeed acted in Secret of the Incas, and had a long career. Her control of her voice was amazing. Personally, I think she could have sung Diva Plavalaguna's part in The Fifth Element without needing any tricks; the first time I heard her was in a Cirque du Soleil show, Quidam. The part where John, the Clown, dances a mambo with a hatstand. The song is Gopher, from her album Mambo! (1954)

(5) Winston's job interview (for the Security Guard job) originally revealed a lot of his background. Turns out he was quite the bad-ass. According to the Ghostbusters Wiki (referencing the movie draft dated August 5, 1983) Winston was an Air Force Police Captain assigned to perimeter security at Reese Strategic Air Command base.


End file.
